Norwich Ice Rink worker claims he was harassed

An outside attorney is probing a complaint by a Norwich Ice Rink employee that Stephanie Davis, a member of the facility’s governing board, harassed him.

Adam Benson

An outside attorney is probing a complaint by a Norwich Ice Rink employee that Stephanie Davis, a member of the facility’s governing board, harassed him.

Human Resources Director Brigid Marks would not confirm the identity of either party, citing privacy issues, but said officials have turned the matter over to a lawyer for further investigation.

“Whenever you get somebody saying something like that, you need to be fair and look into it,” Marks said.

John Healy, the rink’s ice hockey director, said he asked for Davis to be removed from the Ice Arena Authority’s hockey subcommittee over the summer after she sent him several emails critical of the facility’s management. He said he thought it was inappropriate for her to correspond with him about it.

Healy said Davis also touched his shoulder in an inappropriate matter.

“I wasn’t trying to get her fired, but I wanted to bring it to the authority’s attention that I was uncomfortable about it,” Healy said.

The incident happened in August. He later asked the city’s human resources department to look into the matter when no action was taken, Healy said.

Davis did not a return a call seeking comment.

Marks said her office hasn’t received any written communications regarding the incident
Authority chairman Peter Desaulniers wouldn’t comment on the claims Thursday, but said the situation is being “reviewed and looked into.”

All seven voting members of the authority are working under terms that expired on April 1, but Norwich’s charter allows them to continue unless they resign or are replaced by the City Council.

Member Patrice Jaskiewicz resigned Wednesday night along with two rink employees, and a second authority member, Michael Meakem, has stepped down because of time commitments related to his job.

The other five — including Davis — have asked to be reappointed, and their names have been submitted to the City Council for consideration, along with replacements for Jaskiewicz and Meakem.

Recreation Director C. Roger Moss is an ex-officio member of the authority.

On Wednesday, Learn to Skate director Ashley Smith joined Matthew Koehler, a box office, maintenance and pro shop employee, in resigning their positions because of concerns over management.

In her letter to the authority, Smith said she at times was “working at odds” with the authority because of dueling marketing campaigns between her Learn to Skate program and an outsider vendor allowed to advertise at the rink.

“This outside Learn to Skate program was allowed in prominent rink areas, and granted meetings with the authority that neither myself or the public are privy to,” she wrote. “In addition, there have been subcommittee meetings, on-going restructuring discussions and general management meetings that I am once again not privy to the outcomes.”

Desaulniers said the spate of resignations was a “distraction,” but pledged they would not derail the authority’s task of turning the rink into a money-maker. The facility was on the verge of making a profit for the first time since its 1995 opening when a February ammonia leak forced it to close for a month.

In the wake of that incident, the rink lost its manager, Mia Sanca, who claims the authority forced her to resign.

The city has posted a job opening for rink manager. Applications will be accepted through May 24.

“We’re not going to allow any outside interference to offset what we’re attempting to do,” Desaulniers said. “We’re going to be successful. We’re running a very successful operation with a great crew.”

Ashley Foy, who oversees the rink’s figure skating program, said she understands the frustration of her colleagues, but supports the authority’s efforts to keep the facility operating.

“It’s been a year of transition for us and a lot of trial and error we’ve been going through, and there is some confusion when there is no structure in place about what the chain of command is,” she said. “But I think they’re trying to take care of those issues and it’s something that can’t be a quick fix.”